brucesw

There used to be a place I liked called "Charlie's Hamburger Joint" in front of Randall's on Bissonett & Fondren. It looked like an old house, but was built new to look old. Last time I was in Houston, I think it was something else.

Also, anyone remember "Burger Mountain Soda Fountain"?

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The building is gone, now a Randall's service station.

Charlie's seems to be slip-sliding away.

Naturally, there was a Someburger at Studewood and 11th, and that one may still be there. There was another on 19th in

I can't beleave this was in Houston, I wonder why they tore it down? Was the food not good? It looked like a 5 star resturant.

7315 South Main

Red Lion Restaurant

Demolished

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When the Duke of Windsor, nee King Edward VIII, was at the Med Ctr for open heart surgery, the Brit press corps lived at the Red Lion and raved about it. Wallis stayed at the Warwick, I think.

I never got to go.

I remember eating breakfast at some restaurant called "Champ's" as a child.  I liked the little train that would go around near the ceiling, and it would pass through some shelves filled with stuff.  I think they closed down a few years back(I think there were multiple locations).

Oh, and yes, I also remember this place called JoJo's, which was pretty good(This was near the Fondren area, I think, where i used to live).    I don't know if they are still open, though.

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The JoJo's on S. Braeswood, 1 block w. of Hillcroft, has been vacant for about 15 years now and you can hardly see the building for the overgrown shrubbery. The JoJos on Wilcrest @ 59 became a Champs and is now an Exxon station.

I don't know what ever happened to the Champs - they always seemed to do a good business but the food wasn't anything special. I only ate at one a couple of times.

I think a lot of the JoJos went into former Sambo's locations.

Don't be sorry for posting, we like that!

I didn't Know Houston had Steak N Shake,

And I thought I remembered White Castle.

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Steak and Shake was here in the late 70s; the James Coney Island on Westheimer across from the Jungman Library was a Steak and Shake; they're back in TX in the DFW area; hope they'll get back down here, but Culver's, which now has a location out in the Woodlands, is actually better as far as chains go.

Houston had it's own sliders (mini-burgers) - My-T-Byte, on Sheperd between Alabama and Richmond, in a former Toddle House. Didn't last long, unfortunately.

There was a Del Taco on Edgebrook.  It's a credit union now.

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Former Del Taco locations: Shipley's, Richmond @ 527; KD Grill, S. Braeswood west of Hillcroft; Taqueria Guadalaja, Wilcrest n. of 59.

Did Houston every have RuBy Tuesday's?

Or Hardee's?

Or Carl's Jr?

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Hardee's was here very briefly, I want to say mid 70s. The Whataburger on Westheimer between Edloe and Weslayan was originally a Hardee's. I ate there once. I think most of the Hardee's were taken over by Whataburger, which wasn't that big back then.

I don't think Carl's Jr. was ever here.

Homer's - a DIY place like Handy Dan

Meyer Brothers

Levy's - a big competitor of Foley's, in fact, at one time larger than Foley's; I think Levy's stuck with clothing and never got into appliances, etc., like Foley's.

Zindler's Men's and Boy's Wear - yes, that Zindler. Maybe Zindler's Big and Tall is still around.

Mosk's for Men - a big 3 or 4 story men's store downtown in the 50s, right next to the downtown Battlestein's as I recall. Wrestling promoter Paul Boesch did their TV commercials, so it was kind of like Harold's in the Heights.

Here's one that goes waaaay back: W. C. Munn Co., also a dry goods merchant downtown.

Haverty's and Stower's furniture stores. More recently, Suniland.

7-11, after all! and U-Totem, Circle K, even Stop'n Go, which was formerly U-Totem.

Weingarten's - the few remaining stores were Grand Union for a while, then most became Safeway I think. When Safeway pulled out of Houston, they became the shortlived Appletree.

Super-Valu (grocery) - I think Randall's started as a Super-Valu.

Handy Andy - a somewhat upscale grocer from San Antonio; the Randall's Flagship on Voss was a Handy Andy.

IGA Supermarkets

Remember Magnolia Gas - their symbol was Pegasus, the winged horse from Greek mythology; some stations, like the one on W. Gray @ Shepherd had a 3-D Pegasus revolving on a pole for their sign, others had just a 2-D representation. Magnolia merged with Socony-Mobil in the 50s to become Mobil.

Sinclair Gas - still in business elsewhere - with Dino the Dinosaur.

Okay, I confess, I've been working on a research project and reading a lot of old newspapers, dating back to the 20s. But I remember all of the above except W. C. Munn, which goes back to the 20s. Zindler's had a huge, 3 or 4 story store downtown in the 20s.

I think that I also remember a NABISCO plant somewhere in Houston.  I remember learning that it stood for NAtional BIScuit COmpany.  I don't have any Fritos and bean dip in the cabinet.  But I have some RITZ crackers and potted meat.  That made me remember NABISCO.  But the plant that I remember might not have been in Houston.  Maybe someone out there can set me straight.

Now, to spread the potted meat on the RITZ!

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The Nabisco plant fronted on Almeda which was Texas 288 then. I bet every school child within a hundred miles of Houston made a class field trip to Nabisco to see the crackers being made. I think I remember when they closed it was stated they never made Oreos there, but they did make Ritz. I remember when I was about in the fifth grade, looking down on the huge production area from a glassed-in walkway above and seeing the huge stainless tub of Ritz crackers that they said had broken in the process and wouldn't be packaged. Such a waste.

Remember Gebhardt's Potted Chili Meat? (Not a Nabisco product).

Back in the early 60s I lived in east Texas.  Most potato chips were Lays, Mortons or My-T-Fine.

But I remember when going to visit my grandparents in Houston they had Dentler's.  (Think I've got the name right.)  So I associated Dentler's with Houston.

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Dentler Maid - best potato chips ever. I ate nothing else as a child. They were absorbed by Lay's.

I think they were actually made in Conroe or Humble; the son of the couple who founded the company, George Dentler, had Dentler's Pier 21, a good seafood restaurant on Fannin at Braeswood that was in biz up until the mid-70s or so. I understand he later managed Magic Island.